Ray Borner 3 on 3 Challenge Announced

BALLARAT NETS NEW NATIONAL 3ON3 EVENT

 

Sports Promoter and four-time Olympian Ray Borner has joined forces with Basketball Ballarat to present “Ray Borner’s 3on3 Challenge at the Mars Minerdome at Easter in 2017 for a prize of $50,000.

 

3 on 3 is an exciting fast-paced version of basketball played within a half-court space with shooting governed by a 14-sec shot clock.  This version of the game has full FIBA approval and a World Championship has been played on a two year cycle since 2012.  There is also a professional World Tour Series which is taking the game across the globe at a rapid rate.

 

The launch of this event gives Ballarat the opportunity to become the premier destination for the 3 on 3 version of the sport in Australia.

 

Ray Borner was raised in Ballarat and continues to play and coach basketball in this city.  In recent times, he has travelled the World Masters Circuit with considerable success, and his understanding of the sport of basketball and the trends within the sport such as 3on3 basketball will be invaluable in helping to promote and attract teams to Ballarat for this event.

 

Basketball Ballarat is an Association which actively promotes major Basketball events and has successfully hosted Commonwealth Games matches, International Tour games, NBL and WNBL practice games, National Junior Titles and Victorian State Championships

 

Basketball Australia and Basketball Victoria have endorsed this exciting event with plans underway to have the event endorsed and supported by the sports international body FIBA.

 

FIBA 3x3 Development Associate Nicolas Widmer has advised that FIBA “would be more than happy and interested to include this tournament in their competition network this year and put it in the Road to the 2017 World Tour by giving it “Challenger” status”.

 

“A Challenger is a 16-teams international event with FIBA recognition and qualifies the top 2 teams to a World Tour Masters (in Ballarat’s case it would qualify to one of the Asian legs of the World Tour). We currently have around 15 Challengers around the World” Widmer said.

 

In announcing the event Ray Borner said that “the concept is to be built around a rich prize - $50,000 winner takes all, which is sure to attract strong national and even some international interest”.

 

Teams will be able to enter the Challenge in two ways with three entry paths to the Challenge prize.